IAO Gallery plays host to visual art, performative, and installation-based exhibitions from artists working at the intersection of scent and art. We welcome artists from around the world in collaborative exhibitions that showcase visual art, performance, installation and – of course – scent.
The IAO gallery form has changed over the years in response to the space that the IAO has occupied. Since 2016, the IAO Gallery occupies a 154 square foot room located within the Institute for Art and Olfaction in Chinatown, as well as two window display spaces facing Chung King Road.
COMING UP
Praying to the Gods
by Persephenie
March 28 – April 24, 2026
Opening: Saturday March 28, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
In Praying to the Gods, artist Persephenie brings together plants, scent, incense, and self-portraiture to explore reverence through the body. The work treats plants and lived experience as something alive, encountered through smell, awareness, and closeness.
PAST
Learn about past exhibitions on the menu, at the right of this page.
Residencies and artists not listed on the menu at the right:
Hilda Kozari
Residency
November 18-26, 2014
A 9 day arts and research residency, with Hilda Kozari (Finland), where Kozari researched aromatic components for the smell of Proust’s Madeleine.
Jazmin Sarai
Residency
September 1-10, 2014
A ten day artist residency with perfumer Dana El Masri (Montreal, Quebec)
Imitations of Life
by Ben Chase
August-September, 2014
A site-specific exhibition of prints by Ben Chase, exploring the visual tropes of perfume advertising.
Pen on Paper, Drawings
by Sarana Mehra
May-June, 2014
IAO presents an exhibition of pen and ink drawings by British-born artist, Sarana Mehra.
Four Paintings
by Franco Castilla
November-December, 2013
IAO presents an exhibition of paintings by Franco Castilla, on view at IAO’s experimental laboratory at downtown’s L.A. Mart.
Desire Lines and Garden Paths: Nine Years of Type
by Micah Hahn
April, 2013
IAO presents a wide-ranging exhibition of typographic and graphic work by designer and artist Micah Hahn. Covering nine years of type development, Hahn presents over forty printed works on paper.
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Questions? Email us at hello@artandolfaction.com